The Socio Economic Factors And Effects Of Prostitution In Nigeria

European Journal of Research in Social SciencesVol. 3 No. 5, 2015ISSN 2056-5429purpose of this study, however, the terms prostitution and profession have been usedinterchangeably. According to Clinard (1968-371) prostitution is a sexual intercourse on apromiscuous and mercenary or on monetary basis with accompanying emotional indifference.Thus prostitute is a person who engages in sexual relations that are promiscuous, fairlyindiscriminate, largely without affection, often anonymous not made legitimate by marriage.However even with this rather broad definition, there are still ambiguous cases sinceacceptance of money or gift in exchange of sexual favors maybe found among mistresses, girlfriends and wives.In our effort to explain what prostitution is all about our attention is directed to thedevelopmental process, types and characteristics of prostitution; however no detailexplanation would be made as this may be unnecessary. The developmental career of aprostitute include three (3) stages; the entrance into the career, the apprenticeship and thedevelopment of contact. After having contact with someone old in the trade like a pimp orother prostitutes and the new girl decides to be a prostitute, the apprenticeship begins. Theapprenticeship period exists to enable the new girl learn the ‘rules of the game’ (Clinard1968:380).According to Clinard (1968: 377) prostitutes are generally classified into four (4) types. Thefirst type of prostitutes and the lowest in status are the ‘street-walkers' who solicit forcustomers in the streets and public places. Often they are arrested by law enforcement agents;however the most usual penalty is fine. The second categories are those who reside inbrothels which could be low – class hotels or houses located in slum area. The manager ofbrothel collects fees which amount to a substantial part of the prostitute’s earnings as rent andmoney for protection from the law enforcement agents. The third type is the ‘call girl’ whoresides in rented apartment but generally known in many of the high class hotels in townespecially by the waiters and receptionists. These hotel workers put visitors and lodgers intouch with such girls. The sexual act takes place either in the hotel room of the visitor orlodger or in the girl’s apartment.The fourth category is the upper class independent professional prostitute. Usually she residesin a well furnished apartment in one of the most respectable residential areas in town. Mostoften customers are referred to her through former customers who are often highly placedmembers of the society. High class visitors to cities like Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Ibadan andEnugu just to mention a few attending conferences or other meetings are likely to go to suchprostitutes since their mode of operation tends to give the customers some level ofanonymity.In addition to these types of prostitutes, Abdullahi (1996:5) identified another feature ofprostitution in Nigeria involving female students in tertiary institutions. Campus prostitutiontakes various dimensions ranging from amorous relationship between the female students andtheir boyfriends to outright extra-campus prostitution which is a common sight in our bigcities and towns. There are some female students who actually compete with the regularprostitutes. They dress to the hilt and go out in the night to line up along the streets lookingfor customers. Sometimes girls are hired to attend parties and functions where they are paidfor services rendered including sex. There are other female students who do not operate in thevicinity of their campuses. They travel out either single or in groups to engage in commercialsex activities and return to their campuses with huge sums of money and with flashy clothesand jewelries. Lastly, some female students trade sex for marks just like some male studentspay for marks. But what will you call this act? Prostitution, corruption or settlement?Progressive Academic Publishing, UKPage 73www.idpublications.org

European Journal of Research in Social SciencesVol. 3 No. 5, 2015ISSN 2056-5429Actually those who trade sex for marks won’t do same for money because they may be soundfinancially but academically poor.In the same way Clinard (1968:379) identified what can be regarded as commoncharacteristics of prostitutes. Youth is a very essential factor and many prostitutes not only inNigeria but in other countries are generally aged between 17 and 25 although some can beolder, single girls constitutes the largest proportion of prostitutes. However, some arewidows, divorced or separated from their husbands. Prostitutes are highly mobile movingfrom one town to the other. Through associations, they develop attitudes and behaviorpatterns which become part of their roles in the society. It should be noted however, thatwestern types and characteristics of prostitution are essentially different from prostitution inNigeria. Prostitution in the cities of Africa and many less developed countries does not carrywith it as much of the stigma associated with this profession in the more developed countries.The African prostitute has not become susceptible to organization along European lines andalthough she has been known to work for a procurer, this custom is not common. Prostitutiongenerally is open and not less organized in Africa than it is in more developed countries.Moreover, the pimp or intermediary is probably less necessary (Clinard & Abbot, 1973)Socio-Economic Factors of ProstitutionNeedless to say that this is not a theoretical discussion of the causes of prostitution, such adiscussion will take us beyond the scope of this paper. Rather our main task here is to explainsome of the socio-economic factors or conditions which are instrumental in directing girls toprostitution. Among these factors are; previous sexual experience, feeble mindedness, socialand economic conditions, prostitute sub-cultures, family disorganization, ecologicalconsiderations, and greediness and competition.1. Previous Sexual ExperienceA good part of the problem of prostitution lies in the biological nature of man and sexualdesirability. Women have been primarily defined as sexual object either of lust or one ofchastity. There are those who argue that prostitutes usually become demoralized throughinitiation in early sexual experience before entering into commercial vice that they feel theyhave little to suffer from further promiscuous relations. Sexual desirability as a factorgenerating prostitution is not tenable since few women enter into the business to satisfy anindiscriminate or enormous sexual appetite.2. Feeble MindednessMany psychologists explain that there are certain prostitutes who are feeble minded or havevery low intelligence. While such a personal factor may be true in some cases, there is noreason to believe that prostitutes differ from other women in terms of intelligence level.3. Social and Economic ConditionsThe difficulties of living in poverty, slums or areas of bad housing, chronic illness,malnutrition and unemployment, the desire for ease, luxury and ostentatious living andfreedom from certain traditional practices force some girls into prostitution.Progressive Academic Publishing, UKPage 74www.idpublications.org

European Journal of Research in Social SciencesVol. 3 No. 5, 2015ISSN 2056-54294. Prostitute SubcultureThis factor stresses that girls become prostitutes through interaction and association withother prostitutes, peer groups, clients, steerers and procurers, in some cases pimps, in otherslesbian lovers, police and other security agencies.5. Family disorganizationDivorce or home broken up by death of one or both of parents or by prolong illness orinsanity, desertion or rejection may make it difficult for the children to have any parentalaffection, guidance and discipline. Girls raised under such families usually felt unhappy withhome environment thus leading them into prostitution.6. Ecological ConsiderationsEcological factors such as migration and urbanization are often given as reasons contributingto prostitution. Faced by the break down in her life pattern and the failure of the traditionalties to her rural community to sustain her, the urban dweller may easily yield to her urge forsexual promiscuity and a life which promises comfort and ease.7. Greediness and CompetitionThe most touted factor or reason for prostitution including campus prostitution is the greedand the urge to compete with other girls in dressing. To be regarded as a ‘senior girl’ onemust keep up to certain standard of living and dressing. One must be up to date in a fashionworld and must live up for fellow girls to see that one has arrived. This ‘senior girl’ syndromehas led many girls from otherwise decent homes to engage in prostitution. Given thesefactors, it can be concluded that prostitution cannot be explained in terms of one or a fewsufficient conditions. Due to the different types of prostitution in the society, all the aboveexplanations are necessary failures. To find a meaningful explanation, we must locateprostitution within context of its social existence.EFFECTS OF PROSTITUTIONAccording to Clinard (1968:385) prostitution performs both positive and negative functionsor effects.Positive Effects1. Prostitution serves as a sexual outlet for some men and therefore protects the society frommore rapes, perversions and broken marriages2. Prostitution has achieved certain dominant values in the society such as success andsupports others who are dependent on them.3. The prostitute who enters the life of a call-girl from the lower socio-economic status hasexperience an upward mobility4. Prostitution satisfies the need of some men who are temporarily separated from theirnormal regular sexual partners and lovers5. Prostitutes help provide sexual variety and the opportunity to experience new methods ofsexual intercourseProgressive Academic Publishing, UKPage 75www.idpublications.org

European Journal of Research in Social SciencesVol. 3 No. 5, 2015ISSN 2056-5429Negative Effects1. Prostitution is a necessary evil that constitutes a threat to the moral standards of thesociety2. Prostitution is illegal and is punishable by law. A greater percentage of women serving injails are prostitutes3. Because of the stigma attached to prostitution, prostitutes have very few non-deviantfriends in whom to confide4. Prostitution results into severe outbreak of venereal diseases as well as in other femalecriminalities such as theft/stealing, armed robbery, drug trafficking, murder, childabandonment, abortion etc5. Prostitutes exploit customers especially if they know that the customer will not report thecrime for fear of public exposure.METHODOLOGYStudy LocationOjoo is a community located in the northern part of Ibadan metropolis in Akinyele localgovernment of Oyo state, Nigeria. It is bounded by NISER property and Orogun village in theSouth and in the Eastern and Western part by Abatokan and Oguntula villages and NISERresettlement scheme. Ojoo was founded as a farm settlement for indigenes of Ibadan in aboutthe year 1930. The creation of Terminus of Lagos-Ibadan express way in 1976 and theconstruction of Ojoo modern market and Motor Park in 1978 prompted the indigenes ofIbadan to develop their lands into commercial houses and service industries including superguest houses, hotels, brothels and night clubs. The Ojoo community is a meeting point oftravelers coming from the western and northern parts of the country. It is a relaxation centrefor lodging and accommodation for the long distant travelers especially the oil and graintransporters after a hard day’s job at the wheel. Some of the transport drivers sometimes comealong with their prostitutes and/or concubines and accommodates them there as mistresses inOjoo commercial houses. Other drivers when they get there, they start looking for companionsmostly prostitutes. Due to the influx of many people into Ojoo community, prostitution hasspread out from the exclusive confines of hotels and brothels to the streets.Study design and study populationThe study adopted a cross sectional survey design. This type of research design tried to get anoverview of all the subjects, a total perception of the situation of things at a given point in timeusing direct interviews. Information was collected only from a fraction or cross section ofpopulation at a given point in time. According to the 2006 census, the total population of Ojoocommunity was about 211,811. The Ojoo community was selected as the population understudy because it is a close community housing different categories of prostitutes.Sample size and sampling procedureA total of 150 respondents were selected to constitute the sample size for the study. Theresearcher adopted probability sampling method for the study in order to give each respondentan equal chance of being selected. Cluster sampling and simple random sampling methodswere used for the study and with the use of Multi-stage sampling technique; the populationwas divided into five (5) sections namely Strabag, Old bank, Ile-eja, Ile-emu and Ayegbiri.Progressive Academic Publishing, UKPage 76www.idpublications.org

European Journal of Research in Social SciencesVol. 3 No. 5, 2015ISSN 2056-5429With the use of simple random sampling methods 30 households were selected from each ofthe 5 selected areas.Methods of Data collectionThe major instrument used in collecting data for the study was the interview held with theprostitutes. The interviews ranged from two to four hours each, most were recorded in writing.Open ended questions were employed during the interviews which allowed for testingreliability of responses. The interview schedule has two sections; section one was designed toillicit information about the respondent’s socio-economic background and the conditions thatpredispose her to prostitution. Section two was designed to gather data on the socialorganization and modes of operation of the prostitutes.Data types and sourcesFor our purpose in this research direct interviews and personal observations were used tocollect the primary data. The secondary sources of data included reference books, journals,periodicals, magazines and newspapers.Data AnalysisThe data collected from the interviews were analyzed using descriptive statistics likefrequency tables and percentages to interpret data from the field.RESULTSSocio-economic background of RespondentsAn analysis of the socio-economic background data showed that the respondents range in agefrom 16 to 60 years. More than 63 percent were between 16 and 30 years and more than 50percent fall between 21 and 35 years. Majority of the respondents were between 21 and 25years. The average age for the entire sample was 29.1. The respondents’ ethnic origin showedthat less than two third majorities were Hausa’s. The Yoruba’s constitute 10.6 percent of thesample and Igbo’s only 6 percent. Other tribes and non-indigenes constitute 34.7 percent ofthe sample. Thus the majority of the Ojoo prostitutes were the Hausa’s. This is not surprisingbecause the majority of the prostitutes under study were migrants from Northern Nigeria andneighboring countries.In terms of educational qualifications, 80 percent of prostitutes interviewed reported that theyhad no formal education at all. The years of schooling of the remaining 20 percent ranges fromone to thirteen years. On the issue of certificates only five (5) had West African schoolcertificates, eleven had either primary or an equivalent of first school leaving certificate. Thevast majority of the respondents were from the lower socio-economic strata of the society.Almost half of those interviewed were daughters of peasants and unskilled laborers. The skilllevel and occupational background of the respondents were limited. With few exceptionsalmost half of the respondents were recruited through such jobs as domestic servants and foodvendors where no special skills are required. On the marital status of the respondents, almost35 percent reported that they were never married before entering the profession. The majority(65 percent) was married once, and the remaining 12.7 percents had married several times.With regards to the recruitment of the girls into prostitution, the respondents appear to havebecome prostitutes at a relatively early age of 17.4. Surprisingly, more than 73 percents of theProgressive Academic Publishing, UKPage 77www.idpublications.org

European Journal of Research in Social SciencesVol. 3 No. 5, 2015ISSN 2056-5429respondents become prostitutes before their twentieth birthday. In effect then, entry into theprofession at early age means early marriage. Indeed early marriage appears to be animportant predisposing factor in Nigeria, particularly among the Hausa prostitutes.Table 1: Responses of Respondents on the socio-economic status of their nskilled/factory workerStudentGovernment EmployeeBusiness menDon’t know1876121924412.050.78.012.716.02.0TotalSource: Field survey, 2015150100As shown in table 1, more than 50 percent of the clients are unskilled laborers or factoryworkers. The remainder is drawn from business men, government workers, students andpeasants or farmers.Table 2: Responses of Respondents on their relationship with Total150100.0Source: Field Survey, 2015As shown in table 2, almost 49.4 percent of the respondents were unable to develop friendlyrelationship with their clients. However, more than 50 percent of the respondents developedsuch relationship with their clients. This is not surprising because a high proportion of theprostitutes under study are Hausa’s that engaged in ‘Daduro’-which entails long period ofcourtship between prostitutes and clients.Table 3: Responses of Respondents on their working l150100.0Source: Field Survey, 2015Progressive Academic Publishing, UKPage 78www.idpublications.org

European Journal of Research in Social SciencesVol. 3 No. 5, 2015ISSN 2056-5429An insight into the mode of operation of a prostitute is provided by an estimate of the number ofhours she works in a day. On the average a prostitute invests 10 hours in her work. As shown intable 3 the working time may range from a low of

1. Study the socio-economic background of the prostitutes 2. Identify the socio-economic factors or conditions associated with the profession 3. Study the pattern of establishment, social organization and modes of operation of the prostitutes. Definition, Developmental Process, Types and Characteristics of Prostitution